Eminem

Initially, pitchforks were pointed toward Slim Shady for his raw and violent lyrics. Then his Marshall Mathers persona came along and revealed that perhaps the middle-class, white protestors might have been so angry because they recognized the truth in his profanity. However, with his last two albums, Eminem tried to fuse the unabashed rapper with the social commentator only to fail. With Recovery, Eminem finds the balance he’s been looking for with strong beats, an effective use of guest artists, and his familiar intricate word play being put to use telling personal stories. Songs such as “W.T.P.” and “No Love” are fun, but with occasionally stunted lyrics and overly repetitive beats they veer a little close to the generic pop-radio drivel. Overall, Eminem is growing as an artist, and the prime example here is “Space Bound,” which mixes the raw and murderous (but pointless) tendencies of “Kim” from The Marshall Mathers LP with the unbridled but focused rage of The Eminem Show’s “Sing for the Moment.” The result is ugly in its content yet truthful in its execution. He’s moved beyond a lot of the homophobia and senseless rage, and Eminem’s skills as a wordsmith have matured and elevated the expected unchecked emotion and celebrity-bashing beyond mere ignorance.